In The Trenches Long Term Holds: With Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs for 14+ Years
Jan 2, 2025
Zac Carman, long-time CEO of ConsumerAffairs and acquisition entrepreneur, shares his emergent long-term-hold approach and how it shaped investor alignment. He covers running a sale process, creating liquidity options, balancing personal concentration risk, and traits that suit long-term operators. Short anecdotes and practical frameworks pepper the conversation.
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Unexpected Multi-Year Journey
- Zac Carman bought ConsumerAffairs in September 2010 after a search that began in 2009 and initially expected to flip it quickly.
- The business grew from ~ $0.6M to ~$20–25M by 2016, revealing a longer-term opportunity than he first imagined.
The 'Ream' Reveals Long-Term Potential
- Zac describes the business opportunity as a 'ream' where deeper pages reveal greater TAM and durability over time.
- If the ream is deep, continued daily work naturally makes a long-term hold emerge.
Always Speak The Investor Sentence
- Tell investors the 'investor sentence': acknowledge they want their money and commit to building EV to deliver higher IRR/MOIC.
- Demonstrate this via rigorous analysis, OKRs, and cadence to maintain alignment while pursuing long-term value.